Summer isn’t even here yet and many of us are worried about drought.

That’s right, drought. Despite last year being one of the wettest on record for the Minot area, we are now seriously behind in precipitation received.

It’s hard to say which is worse, floods or droughts, but Minot has seen more than its fair share of both. Both can be recovered from but it takes time and is very expensive…and frustrating because people can do so little to improve their lots when it comes to the weather.

Just how bad are things? As we learned last week, we are only days away from being in serious trouble.

“We’re living on last year’s stored water. That’s what’s saving our bacon right now,” Allen Schlag, a National Weather Service hydrologist in Bismarck told us – last week. And we’ve had little more than a drop or two of rain since.

“So far in June, Bismarck hasn’t even had a third of an inch yet,” said Schlag then. “March had only three days with a tenth or more. That’s paltry.”

So what is the upside? Number one is that it is not too late to save crops. There is still time for a good harvest.

Perhaps, for many of us, the dire situation we appear to be headed into is not unlike dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic; we turn to our faith for protection. Time to pray for rain.

Truth is, that is something North Dakotans have become very good at over the years. We have had a lot of practice praying for rain – to either start or stop.